Slide Step
by Zarius
Summary: (Former Deadfic rewritten as a one-shot), Fresh off ending the twin threat of Professor Cog and Shifter, Scott Truman is on his way back home when he stumbles on a startling sight, followed by some startling revelations from a group of travellers (tag for "Clash of the Red Rangers" and "Shattered Grid")


**POWER RANGERS AND SLIDERS:**

 **"SLIDE STEP"**

 **WRITTEN BY ZARIUS**

 **DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers and all trademarked characters are owned by Saban Brands. SLIDERS are trademarked by UNIVERSAL. No profit shall be made from this venture**

* * *

"Well, it's time to take the fight against evil back to my own world" said Scott Truman as he prepared to board the inter-dimensional travel train docked within the Panorama City subway, having travelled to a world where a different group of Power Rangers, and the human race, were thriving.

There had been a clash of personalities, even a physical clash that pitted Scott's wits and skills against the leader of this dimension's Rangers, Jayden, but ultimately this battle between them proved to be a ruse to fool their enemies and they were able to get the drop on their adversary, a devious machine being known as Professor Cog and a Nighlok General called Shifter.

They were able to overcome their differences and rally together to defeat an unholy alliance between the Nighlok forces of this world and the ruthless and malicious machines of Scott's own.

This team of Rangers had even gotten to meet Scott's own group after they were temporarily sucked into his home dimension by Professor Cog. With the assistance of Doctor K and the remaining Rangers on Scott's team, they were able to return to their own world.

"Say hi to your team for us" said Emily.

"I wish you could demorph" said Mike as the two walked over to the centre of the train, "So I could thank you face to face"

The doors of the train slid open, and Scott stepped into them

"I see the way she looks at you"

"Hey guys, you ever wonder how a train can just travel to another dimension as easily as the snap of a finger?" said Mike

"We experience stranger things over on our end of the universe" Jayden said

"I think you mean multi-verse" said Jake

"Scott's team were pretty sharp, I admit I had a bit of a crush on the Scottish Ranger" said Mia.

"That makes sense, between your love of cooking and their love of frying, you'd get on like a kitchen on fire" joked Kevin, "Provided you don't set the kitchen on fire of course"

The Samurai Rangers laughed and proceeded to walk out of the tunnel. As they did so, Jayden took one further glance back at the tunnel

And so the Samurai Rangers went back to their regular lives, little knowing that within the tunnel, fresh problems were about to manifest.

Inside the train, Scott looked at his left arm and tapped slightly onto it, a binary code began to materialise within the fabric of his uniform, dotted in black letting that was enhanced by a velvet glow, igniting the code and making it visible. Scott tapped on three letters and two numbers and then gently nodded his head.

Scott felt a slight tremor beneath his feet and the insides of the train began to vibrate and shudder. As he approached a bright, shimmering light that began to gradually shrink and then balloon in size.

"What's going on?" said Scott as he gazed on in awe at the sight before him, managing to make out a vivid shape at the centre of the unstable nexus, a technologically advanced, towering city with a long stretch of runway across it. A sharp-edged and brightly eagle eyed vehicle flying overhead, violently pushing itself forwards and backwards, pounding away at an invisible barrier.

Finally, the buckling ended, the city faded from view, and the wormhole stabilised again. The train flew through and arrived at its intended destination.

As Scott clambered out of the train, he was greeted by familiar faces, his team mate Ziggy, Col. Truman, his father, and Doctor K.

"Scott, are you Ok?" she said, pulling out a small micro probe and scanning him "Don't budge, I have to check that series Red's bio external defences haven't been in any way compromised by the energy emissions"

"In short, she was looking for creases in your spandex" said Ziggy.

K gave him a scowling look.

"What the heck happened to me in there?" said Scott, "The wormhole went…nuts on me, that's never happened before, and I almost ended up somewhere else"

"If it's any comfort, you'd still have been home" said K, "What you saw WAS Corinth"

"Really?"

"Same place, same location, just a different dimension, like the Earth you had just visited" said K, putting away her probe and anxiously patting Scott on the shoulder, "There, erm, clean health bill, or something"

"I'm teaching her all the tricks of being a good examiner. All that's needed now are the lollipops" said Ziggy cheerfully

"But what could have nearly thrown me off course like that?" said Scott

"That's what we aim to discover. While you were gone, we received a visit from a group who possessed technology similar to the inter-dimensional toys that the good Doctor has been tinkering with over the course of the year" said Truman.

"…Wait, does that mean…Logan came _back_?" said Scott.

"Yes and no" came a voice from behind K. A tall male flanked by a black man, one short woman, and one overweight elderly gentleman.

K made the formal introductions.

"Scott, this is Quinn Mallory. You're going to find this hard to believe, but he's Logan's gender flipped double from a parallel world"

"I'm afraid Logan St. Clarie's presence on your world was a direct result of tracking the wormhole left by our old timer" Quinn explained.

Scott looked perplexed.

"Its how we slide from world to world. You see, we've been on this world before, back before this Venjix virus took over and reduced everything to Skynet circa 1997"

"Wait, you're not with her?" Scott asked.

"I'm glad to say we aren't young man" said the eldest of the group.

"Wait, I know you...you're Maximillion Arturo, but you died in Venjix's initial attack wave"

"My double, I assure you" Arturo explained.

"Logan said she knew you...I just assumed she meant the Arturo from this world. She taught us everything about the technique of...what do you call it? Sliding?"

"Where is Logan?" asked Quinn.

"Gone...like I said, she slid to another world after she gave Professor Cog the security codes required to breach this facility and use the train to reach the world I just returned from" Scott explained.

"We found a video diary where she made her intentions clear; she intended to use the technology to help the highest bidder achieve total dominance of parallel worlds." K revealed.

"Yeah, that's her calling card, she likes to brag. A lot" Quinn explained.

"Now that the situation has been successfully contained, and Logan is no longer a priority, I'm terminating our development of this project" Colonel Truman revealed.

"But we don't know if we may ever need it again...what if Logan finds another willing despot to peddle her sliding knowledge to? Who would be the last line of interdimensional defence?" K asked.

"The good Doctor's right Colonel, you still need this project. You need to hold the line on this front as you have against Venjix on your world" Arturo explained.

"Our timer's about to hit zero guys, stand back"

Quinn watched as the countdown on the timer hit zero. A powerful light beam emitted from the device and a vast swirling vortex opened up.

"This is where we part, good luck Colonel" said Quinn as he beckoned Arturo and the others to join him.

Ziggy suddenly jumped out to spring one of the group with a photograph and a pen.

"Look, I know it's likely you're not the same man, but Rembrandt Brown was a big influence on my life, I'd like if you could sign this photo of yourself from this world, make it out to Ziggy" he asked.

Rembrandt smiled.

"You spoke from the heart kid, and you've withstood a hellhole, guess that makes you a soul survivor" he said, signing the photograph before rushing towards the vortex with the other Sliders and jumping through it.

As the vortex closed, Ziggy punched the air in excitement.

"This is great, I can put forward the myth Rembrandt is still alive, that he gave me his one and only new autograph, and make a mint off of the publicity"

Doctor K took the photo from him and promptly tore it up.

"Your mind needs to be elsewhere" she said.

Scott and Truman casually walked away from the parked Train; Ziggy looked at it, transfixed

"Why did Scott go for the ride and not the rest of us?" said Ziggy, "I'd kick tail for a cruise on this"

"And what if you'd been lost to the twin-cast?" said K.

"Twin…what?" asked a perplexed Ziggy, trailing off.

"The emissions in the temporal tunnel feed were caused by twin-cast buffering, two external dimensions bleeding into one another, think of it like attaching one step to a multi-verse staircase, it takes a tremendous hammering from the top AND the bottom, so far the bottom is unwilling to co-operate, but if _not_ complimented, the maintenance being done on the top will remain unfinished and the tears it's causing will pierce through into other reality, and STAY torn up"

"Why are you dumping this info on me? I'm not exactly wired this way" said Ziggy.

"I'm learning to share" said K.

Somewhere else, across the multitudes of parallel worlds, on a world ravaged by an all too powerful despot, Doctor K's worst fears regarding Logan St. Claire were being confirmed.

"As you can see, Professor Cog made the most of the opportunity my technology had given him, he proved a match for the Power Rangers of that world and it took a Ranger of another world taking a little trip to their reality to give them even more of a fighting chance. Now you may say to yourself, 'did you factor that into your plans?', I'm pleased to say I did, you see, the Red RPM Ranger carries within his suit an upload of the Venjix virus. In a few short years, it will succeed in developing an off-shoot program that will overwhelm and infect every inch of the bio-grid"

Her partner smiled with supreme satisfaction.

"All it takes in this merry dance are some little side steps" she concluded.

"You have done well" said Lord Drakkon.


End file.
